The intrinsic muscles of the foot are important to maintain the arch of the foot and to participate in sports activities. Using ultrasound shear wave elastography, we investigated the effect of ...different toe flexion methods on the activity of the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the foot. The study included 15 healthy adults who performed toe flexion under 2 conditions: with interphalangeal (IP) joint flexion and without IP joint flexion. The applied load during flexion was 500 g. Muscle stiffness was measured in the abductor hallucis, flexor hallucis brevis, flexor digitorum brevis, quadratus plantae, flexor hallucis longus, and flexor digitorum longus muscles using ultrasound shear wave elastography. Muscle stiffness was statistically compared with IP flexion and without IP flexion (P < 0.05). The stiffness of the abductor hallucis (P < 0.0005), flexor hallucis brevis (P = 0.022), and flexor digitorum brevis muscles (P < 0.0005) was significantly greater without IP flexion than with IP flexion. In contrast, the muscle stiffness of the flexor hallucis longus (P = 0.001) and the flexor digitorum longus (P = 0.004) was significantly greater during with IP flexion than without IP flexion. This study shows that the abductor hallucis, flexor hallucis brevis, flexor digitorum brevis muscles are more active during toe flexion without IP flexion. These results suggest that the toe flexion method is important for more effective training of the intrinsic muscles of the foot.
Introduction. A number of scientists have proven the positive effect of taekwon-Do I.T.F. on the physical state of people of all ages, the state of their musculoskeletal system. However, in the ...scientific literature there is no data on the effectiveness of taekwon-Do I.T.F. use in the programs of correction of foot arch (FA) disorders of young athletes. Similarly, no studies have been conducted on the effect of taekwon-Do I.T.F. exercises on the development of myofacsical kinematic chain (MFKC) of the lower limb and its role in the foot maintenance and correction in foot arch disorders. The purpose is to experimentally test the effectiveness of a comprehensive program for the foot arch disorders correction of young athletes by means of taekwon-Do I.T.F. Material and method. The following instrumental methods were used in the work: plantography (baropodograph using computer device “DIERS FAAMUS” (Germany)); electroneuromyography ("Neuro-EMG-Micro" made by "Neurosoft" (Russia)); photometry; myotonometry; formative consistent pedagogical experiment; methods of statistical data processing (Statistics 6.0 (StatSoft, USA)). Young athletes aged 7–8 with FA disorders and a normal foot took part in a 12-month formative experiment. Results. The value of the Friedland index, which characterizes the functional foot reserves, increased statistically significantly among EG1 young athletes who practiced according to the program developed by us, compared with those who were training according to the traditional program – by 6.48% against 3.85%, respectively. Conclusions. Analysis of FA morphological parameters of young athletes aged 7-8 years shows that the positive changes are statistically significantly more performed in young athletes who were training in the sports center "Taekwon-Do I.T.F." on a program of comprehensive correction, which is confirmed by FA changes.
Background: The longitudinal arch is important for individuals with pes planus. The toe spread out exercise (TSO) has been widely used to continuously support the longitudinal arch by increasing the ...abductor hallucis (AbdH) muscle activation. However, the AbdH muscle is commonly lack of the sufficient activation during the TSO especially in individuals with pes planus.
Objects: This study was performed to investigate the effect of arch support on the muscle activity and strength of the AbdH during TSO in standing position in individuals with pes planus.
Methods: Twenty subjects with pes planus between 20 and 30 years of age participated in this study. The muscle activity and strength of the AbdH were measured using surface EMG system and the Smart KEMA tensiometer system. The AbdH muscle was evaluated during TSO between individuals with and without longitudinal arch support in standing position. The longitudinal arch was supported by using the insole. The paired t-test was used. The level of statistical significance was set at α = 0.05.
Results: The muscle activity and strength of the AbdH during TSO with arch support in standing position was significantly greater than that without arch support.
Conclusion: The muscle activity and strength of the AbdH during TSO in standing position can be influenced by the longitudinal arch support in individuals with pes planus. The AbdH strengthening during TSO in standing with arch support can be recommended especially in individuals with pes planus in the clinical settings.
The muscle and tendon complex of the foot helps to support the foot arch and generates the muscle force of the foot. The present study investigated the force‐generating capacity of the toe flexor ...muscles and the dynamic function of the foot arch when standing upright, and the relationships between these indices. The maximum toe flexor force and foot arch height in the sitting and standing positions were studied in the left and right feet of 224 healthy young individuals. To measure the maximum isometric force of the toe flexor muscles, the subjects exerted maximum force on a toe grip dynamometer. Measurements were repeated three times with at least a 1‐min rest period between bouts, and the maximum value among the measurements for each foot was used for further analysis. The absolute value of the toe flexor strength was normalised by body mass. The foot arch height was measured the distance between the tuberosity of the navicular bone and the floor, and normalised by height. The relative foot arch height difference between the sitting and standing positions was evaluated as the foot arch dynamics. The maximum isometric toe flexor strength was 42% higher in the standing position than in the sitting position. There was no relationship between the relative toe flexor strength and the relative foot arch height in either the sitting or standing positions; however, the relative increase in toe flexor strength from sitting to standing (the force amplification factor) was related to the foot arch dynamics, and the flexible foot arch showed a greater increase in the toe flexor strength from sitting to standing compared with the strength in the stiff foot arch. The results of this study suggest that the force‐generating capacity of the toe flexor muscles is augmented by bodyweight bearing in upright standing. Additionally, the force amplification mechanism is mechanically regulated by the dynamic function of the foot arch in conjunction with the stretching of the muscle–tendon complex of the foot.
To identify the advantages and disadvantages of treatment options for flat feet, which is common foot arch deformation affecting many people.
We performed a literature review of ways of treating flat ...feet using orthoses available on the shelf and custom-made as an alternative for special and typical cases. We compared 7 types of orthoses and showed the evolution of custom-made orthoses.
Off-the-shelf solutions are cheaper and available almost instantaneously in shops and online. They may be a good option for typical flat feet, but not for everybody because of their strict range of sizes and lack of personalization. On the other hand, custom-made orthoses are better fitted and can be used for typical and atypical flat feet cases. Custom-made orthosis demands time to make all necessary adjustments and manufacture orthosis.
Off-the-shelf solutions can be a good choice for patients with no special needs in treatment. However, they would not be suitable for everyone in terms of size. Custom-made orthoses are often a better choice even though the waiting period. The time needed for execution will be constantly shortened in the future because of the development of technologies such as 3D printing and scanning and CAD processing.
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•Patterned nanofiber membrane was fabricated through electrospinning, patterned ultraviolet crosslinking and solution rinsing.•A pressure sensing array was fabricated utilizing ...graphene electrode arrays and sandwiched H3PO4@PVPP dielectric units.•The microstructures on the surface of electrode and the nanofiber membrane offer high sensitivity and wide pressure ranges.•Based on a 10 × 10 pressure sensing array with a crosstalk of 1.3%, a foot-arch diagnostic system was developed.
Flexible pressure sensors have found widespread application in medical diagnosis and human–computer interaction. These practical applications often require large-area pressure sensing arrays (PSAs) to explore spatial pressure distributions. However, the development of high-performance PSAs still presents significant challenges. Here, a new method is proposed for the fabrication of a high-resolution capacitive PSA in a 10 × 10 configuration. The array comprises the upper and lower electrode arrays of laser-induced graphene patterned on polyimide films, as well as the sandwiched dielectric units based on electrospun nanofiber membranes of H3PO4@PVPP (cross-linked polyvinyl pyrrolidone). Experimental results indicate that the PSA exhibits high sensitivity across a wide pressure range (0–200 kPa), while offering a rapid response/recovery time of 24/41 ms (at 1 kPa), an exceptionally low detection limit of ∼1.2 Pa, and a good stability of 4000 cycles. Moreover, the crosstalk of the PSA was found to be as low as 1.3%. By employing the PSA in conjunction with a convolutional neural network algorithm, a human foot-arch diagnostic system was developed for accurate detection and quantification of the plantar pressure for different types of foot arches. Such technology has significant potential in clinical detection and disease diagnosis of human foot.
The arch of the human foot is unique among hominins as it is compliant at ground contact but sufficiently stiff to enable push-off. These behaviours are partly facilitated by the ligamentous plantar ...fascia whose role is central to two mechanisms. The ideal windlass mechanism assumes that the plantar fascia has a nearly constant length to directly couple toe dorsiflexion with a change in arch shape. However, the plantar fascia also stretches and then shortens throughout gait as the arch-spring stores and releases elastic energy. We aimed to understand how the extensible plantar fascia could behave as an ideal windlass when it has been shown to strain throughout gait, potentially compromising the one-to-one coupling between toe arc length and arch length. We measured foot bone motion and plantar fascia elongation using high-speed X-ray during running. We discovered that toe plantarflexion delays plantar fascia stretching at foot strike, which probably modifies the distribution of the load through other arch tissues. Through a pure windlass effect in propulsion, a quasi-isometric plantar fascia's shortening is delayed to later in stance. The plantar fascia then shortens concurrently to the windlass mechanism, likely enhancing arch recoil at push-off.
The footprint and body posture are important variables to consider in the physical and motor development of school populations, so the objective was to analyze the relationship between footprint and ...body posture in physical education students of school age. The number of participants was 33 students divided into 2 groups: girls (42.5%) and boys (57.5%). The Portland State University (PSU) method was used for postural evaluation, and the Hernandez Corvo Index (HCI) was used for the footprint. The main findings were that 10% of the population had flat feet, significant differences were found in terms of posture where females had higher values, approaching the ideal value of 85%. A significant moderate correlation (r=0.46; p≤0.05) was found between BMI and shoulder girdle. In conclusion, there were no significant correlations between the PSU method and the HCI, possibly due to the subjectivity of the PSU method. The study supports and advises the practice of physical activity as an important factor in the prevention of flat feet and postural deviations.
La huella plantar y la postura corporal son variables importantes por considerar en el desarrollo físico y motriz en poblaciones escolares, por lo que se planteó el objetivo de analizar la relación entre la huella plantar y la postura corporal en estudiantes de educación física en edades escolares. El número de participantes fue de 33 escolares subdivididos en 2 grupos: niñas (42,5%) y niños (57,5%). Para la evaluación postural fue utilizado el método Portland State University (PSU) y para la huella plantar el Índice de Hernández Corvo (IHC). Los principales hallazgos fueron el 10% de la población posee pie plano, se encontró diferencias significativas en cuanto a la postura donde el género femenino tuvieron mayores valores, acercándose al valor ideal 85%. Se encontró una correlación moderada significativa (r=0,46; p≤0,05) entre el IMC y la cintura escapular. En conclusión, no hubo correlaciones significativas entre el método PSU y el IHC, posiblemente a la subjetividad del método PSU. El estudio soporta y aconseja la práctica de actividad física como factor importante en la prevención del pie plano y desvíos posturales.
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